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Wild pitches fell Mariners vs. Twins

8/1/15: Nelson Cruz hits his 28th home run of the season with a line drive to left-center field, giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the 6th

By Betsy Helfand and Greg Johns
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MLB.com |

MINNESOTA -- The Twins completed a comeback in walk-off fashion Saturday night, scoring two runs in the ninth and ousting the Mariners, 3-2, with a Kurt Suzuki single off of Carson Smith with two outs. Twins rookie Miguel Sano led off the ninth inning with a double and pinch-runner Shane Robinson took third and home on wild pitches from Smith before Suzuki drove in left fielder Eddie Rosario, who had been intentionally walked.

"I think that anybody who plays this game wants to be in that position. I don't care where you are in the standings -- you want to be in that spot," Suzuki said. "I kind of had an idea they were going to do that just the way Rosie was swinging and the matchup. I was kind of hoping, 'OK, this is what it's all about. This is why you play.'"

Betsy Helfand is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregJohnsMLB, read his Mariners Musings blog, and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

MINNEAPOLIS - Strong pitching by starter Mike Montgomery and setup men Tom Wilhelmsen and Fernando Rodney had the Mariners poised for victory on Saturday, but things haven't gone that smoothly for Seattle much of the time this season.

And after a wild ninth from rookie closer Carson Smith, the Mariners were slapped with another walk-off loss, this one to the Twins, 3-2. It was the Mariners' seventh walk-off setback of the season, and Smith has now taken the loss in his last three outings.

Cano returns at DH, will play 2B in Colorado

MINNEAPOLIS -- Robinson Cano was healthy enough to play designated hitter in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Twins, but the six-time All-Star won't return to duty at second base until the team heads to Colorado for an Interleague series at the start of next week.

Cano missed three games with an abdominal strain, but worked out prior to Saturday night's game with trainer Rick Griffin and was cleared to return in a limited role at DH. Cano went 0-for-4, but drove in Seattle's initial run on an groundout in the first inning.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Outfielder Alex Jackson, the Mariners' No. 1 ranked prospect on MLBPipeline.com, has been sidelined for one or two weeks with a left hand injury.

The 19-year-old has put up a .259/.355/.444 line with two homers and 11 RBIs in 23 games for Class A Short Everett. He was transferred to Class A Clinton on Friday and placed on the disabled list to create room on Everett's roster, but is expected to be returned to Everett's roster as soon as he's ready to play again.

Mariners new reliever happy to be with Seattle

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rob Rasmussen has been traded five times now in the past four years, but the well-traveled southpaw said it was a little different Friday when he learned he was being swapped by the Blue Jays to the Mariners.

This deal, it turned out, came with an invitation to the Major League club, and the former UCLA hurler flew immediately from Buffalo in time to arrive at Friday night's Mariners game against the Twins in the third inning at Target Field.

Walker one-hits Twins to halt Mariners' skid

7/31/15: Taijuan Walker gives up one hit and strikes out a career-high-tying 11 hitters while giving up one run in a complete-game victory

By Betsy Helfand and Greg Johns
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MLB.com |

MINNEAPOLIS -- Taijuan Walker was dominant Friday, helping the Mariners snap a four-game losing streak and giving up just one run on one hit in Friday's 6-1 victory over the Twins. Walker struck out 11 in the first nine-inning complete game of his career, and was aided by two RBIs apiece from Brad Miller, Jesus Montero and Nelson Cruz.

"You can see what this young man is going to become and it's going to be special," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said after the 22-year-old right-hander improved to 8-7 with a 4.73 ERA.

Betsy Helfand is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on
Twitter @GregJohnsMLB, read his Mariners Musings blog, and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Things haven't always gone smoothly for Taijuan Walker this season. But Friday night at Target Field, the hard-throwing 22-year-old showed a strong glimpse of what could be for the Mariners future as he fired a one-hitter at the Twins in a 6-1 victory.

Walker gave up only a home run to Miguel Sano in the fourth inning in a dominant outing that included a career-high-tying 11 strikeouts and just 101 pitches in his first nine-inning complete game.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Infielder Ketel Marte and first baseman/designated hitter Jesus Montero were recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday along with newly acquired relievers Rob Rasmussen and Jose Ramirez. Montero immediately provided a spark as the Mariners topped the Twins, 6-1, to snap a four-game losing streak.

Montero went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs while playing first base. Marte made his Major League debut and went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored while leading off and playing second base.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Mariners completed a two-day push to add pitching prospects to their organization by dealing veteran starter J.A. Happ to the Pirates for young right-hander Adrian Sampson just prior to Friday's Trade Deadline.

Sampson, 23, is a Seattle-area native who grew up in Redmond, Wash., attended Skyline High School and Bellevue College before he was drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round in 2012. He was ranked as the Pirates' No. 28 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.

Mariners acquire 3 lefty prospects for Lowe

MINNEAPOLIS -- Veteran reliever Mark Lowe, one of the better comeback stories in baseball this season, was dealt by the Mariners to the Blue Jays for three left-handed Minor League pitchers before Friday's 1 p.m. PT Trade Deadline.

Lowe, 32, posted a 1.00 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 36 innings over 34 appearances this season after signing a Minor League deal with the Mariners. The 10-year veteran had pitched primarily in Triple-A the previous two years during stints with the Angels and Indians, with his last full season in the Majors coming with the Rangers in 2012.

Mariners can't recover after Happ stumbles early

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Jackson's two-run homer 0:49

7/30/15: Austin Jackson jolts a two-run home run to left-center field to bring the score to 7-5 in the top of the 4th

By Rhett Bollinger and Greg Johns
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MLB.com |

MINNEAPOLIS -- Eddie Rosario and Aaron Hicks combined for six hits, five runs and four RBIs to help the Twins snap a four-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Mariners on Thursday night at Target Field.

Rosario fell a single short of the cycle, as he was robbed of a hit in the eighth on a leaping catch from Mariners shortstop Brad Miller, but still had three hits, including a three-run blast as part of a five-run first inning. Hicks registered his fifth straight multi-hit game by going 3-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk, and is hitting .365 over his last 22 games since coming off the disabled list.

Seattle acquires outfielder Flores and right-hander Ramirez

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mariners outfielder Dustin Ackley, the second player selected in the 2009 Draft, was dealt to the Yankees on Thursday for two prospects -- outfielder Ramon Flores and right-hander Jose Ramirez -- who had brief Major League stints earlier this year.

Ackley, 27, never flourished as hoped with Seattle, hitting .243 over five seasons and .215 this year when he was reduced to a platoon role in left field.

Mariners second baseman hopes to return, at least as DH, on Friday

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano sat out his second straight game Thursday to rest a strained abdominal muscle, but manager Lloyd McClendon hopes he'll be able to at least play designated hitter by Friday.

Cano said the muscle hurts when he runs, but he can swing the bat and turn his body without pain.

MINNEAPOLIS -- For a Mariners team built largely on the back of its pitching staff, things have gone upside down the last week. While the offense has finally heated up, a once-reliable rotation has come unglued and J.A. Happ was the latest victim when the Twins pinned a 9-5 loss on Seattle in Thursday's series opener at Target Field.

Happ surrendered three home runs in the first two innings and wound up allowing nine hits and seven runs (six earned) over 3 1/3 as he fell to 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Infielder Chris Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma after Thursday's 9-5 loss to the Twins as the Mariners opened up a roster spot for the expected addition of highly regarded prospect Ketel Marte.

No corresponding move was announced Thursday, but Marte was pulled from Tacoma's lineup in El Paso on Thursday and is expected to join the Mariners on Friday, along with designated hitter/first baseman Jesus Montero.

Command off, Felix has rare rough day

Mariners ace allows 7 runs, cites 'mistakes' left over plate

7/29/15: Felix Hernandez strikes out seven over 6 2/3 innings of work in a losing effort vs. the D-backs

By Doug Miller
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MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- As hard as it is to believe and as rare as it is to witness, Felix Hernandez has the occasional bad day.

This is never expected, especially on a perfect, cloudless Wednesday afternoon at Safeco Field with the Mariners needing their ace to salvage one victory out of their three-game series against the D-backs. But Hernandez never had it, and the 8-2 loss had the right-hander and his team in the midst of a three-game losing streak that pushed it further out of the postseason picture.

Felix roughed up as Mariners drop finale

7/29/15: Brad Miller puts the Mariners on the scoreboard in the 4th with a ground-ball base hit through the left side, scoring Kyle Seager

By Doug Miller and Andrew Erickson
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MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- Patrick Corbin continued his strong comeback from Tommy John surgery, Welington Castillo haunted his former team with two home runs and Felix Hernandez suffered a rare clunker of an outing. In the aftermath, the D-backs completed a three-game sweep Wednesday afternoon with an 8-2 win over the Mariners before a sun-splashed Safeco Field crowd of 32,502.

"I felt like even when we were losing, we were playing hard and they were giving it everything they had every night, so it's hard for the manager to get upset," said D-backs manager Chip Hale. "We're doing a little better with the execution, we're situationally hitting better, we're getting a couple two-out hits with guys in scoring position and the big thing here is our starting pitching has been fantastic."

Doug Miller is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @DougMillerMLB. Andrew Erickson is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Zunino shows off power with 452-foot homer

SEATTLE -- Catcher Mike Zunino went where few have gone in Safeco Field history on Tuesday night, blasting a home run over the out-of-town scoreboard behind the Mariners bullpen in Seattle's 8-4 loss to the D-backs.

Nelson Cruz put a ball in the same area three innings later, but Zunino got the edge in the Statcast™ measurements, with his third-inning blast blast projected to land 452 feet from home plate compared to 440 for Cruz's smash.

SEATTLE -- Rookie right-hander Zack Godley won his second straight start to open his D-backs career as Arizona topped the Mariners, 8-4, on Tuesday night at Safeco FIeld.

Godley (2-0, 2.25 ERA) gave up three runs on seven hits -- including tape-measure home runs by Mike Zunino and Nelson Cruz -- in six innings, but he got plenty of offensive support as the D-backs racked up 12 hits and a home run of their own from Ender Inciarte. Arizona has won four in a row to improve to 48-51.

Nuno proving to be vital cog in bullpen

SEATTLE -- In a bullpen searching for solutions in recent weeks, Mariners left-hander Vidal Nuno is becoming a name to remember.

The 28-year-old Californian, acquired from the D-backs along with Mark Trumbo on June 3, has begun taking on an increasingly important role. With veteran southpaw Charlie Furbush on the disabled list and the overworked bullpen taking on water on various fronts, Nuno has stepped up with nine straight scoreless innings with five hits, two walks and six strikeouts over his last seven outings.

Soccer star Lloyd to throw out first pitch

SEATTLE -- Carli Lloyd, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and hero of the U.S. Women's World Cup soccer championship team, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners-Orioles game on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at Safeco Field.

Lloyd is a midfielder for the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League and her team will be in Seattle to play the Seattle Reign FC on Aug. 12 at Moda Pitch at Memorial Stadium.

Mariners burned in 10th by Seattle native Lamb

7/27/15: With two outs in the 9th, Mike Zunino rips a single to left field that drives in Chris Taylor to tie the game at 3

By Greg Johns and Andrew Erickson
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MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- Jake Lamb, a Seattle native playing his first Major League game back in his hometown, hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th as the D-backs knocked off the Mariners, 4-3, in Monday night's opener of a three-game Interleague series at Safeco Field.

Lamb drove in Paul Goldschmidt with a fly ball to center off former D-backs reliever Vidal Nuno, who came into a one-out, bases-loaded situation after Seattle closer Carson Smith walked two and hit a batter.

Montgomery takes big step forward

SEATTLE -- While the Mariners' bullpen continues to spring leaks, Seattle got a much-needed solid start from rookie southpaw Mike Montgomery on Monday in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the D-backs.

Manager Lloyd McClendon said his bullpen's woes are largely because it's been overtaxed due to too many short outings from the rotation, but Montgomery overcame a shaky first two innings to throw 6 2/3 innings of five-hit ball in his 11th start of the season.

Edgar helping Mariners' bats get turned around

SEATTLE -- A Mariners offense that struggled through a tough first half has awakened considerably since the All-Star break, and manager Lloyd McClendon is happy to point to new hitting coach Edgar Martinez as a big reason.

Martinez replaced Howard Johnson five weeks ago, and his work appears to be paying off with youngsters Mike Zunino and Brad Miller, as well as with a veteran group that has finally begun putting things together.

Though Randy Johnson entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday as a D-back, an emotional Big Unit gave plenty of credit to the Mariners as well during his induction speech in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"The trade to Seattle set my career in motion," Johnson said. "It was my apprenticeship, 10 years there. I played with Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Omar Vizquel, Dan Wilson and so many more. Ken Griffey Jr. will surely be here next year.